Gone to the Darkside

[Red Wazp]

Some of you may remember I totaled my FJR last fall when a deer went suicidal in Washington state.
I replaced the bike with a Gold Wing and have racked up close to 7k miles on it since then and really like the comfort, power and handling of the Hondapotamas.
The Gold Wing boys have been running car tires on the rear for years. Double the miles and with a run on flat tire it is more about safety than getting 20k miles out of a tire. Some even go "double dark" with a CT on the rear and a rear mc tire on the front for big tire miles on the slab.
Somewhere along the line the term Darkside came into play most likely after all the grief the unbelievers were giving them.
It was late by the time my friend and finished mounting new tires so I have only ridden it 5 miles home in the "Dark". I must say I could feel no difference in the bike at all with the big boy on the rear.
Of course this would not be a good idea on a sport bike however I know guys who are darksiders on their FJR's and they handle the twistys just fine

Feel free to flame on about car tires on bikes but I do believe I will be quite happy with this set up.

OH if you think I am some old guy (I am) putting around on the wing you may be right however I still have the Katoom for the hooligan stuff. :spank:

 

[Xavias]

Ride what you like, like what you ride, Frak anyone who says differently.

But seriously, my dad is thinking about doing this on his '95 GL1500, I'm sure he'd be excited to hear a review.

 

[Red Wazp]

The GL1800 forum has the info for the 1500! Tell him to go for it, he can always go back if he does not like it.

 

[FIZZER6]

I find this interesting but geometrically speaking I'm not sure how it can handle the twisties well unless you just don't lean the bike over much. I'm sure the tire flattens out a lot when you lean so the tread is still making contact with the road but it has to make it more difficult to get the bike to "turn in" initially...although a Goldwing must weight 1,000 lbs. :thumbup:

What size tire is it?

 

[Xavias]

I find this interesting but geometrically speaking I'm not sure how it can handle the twisties well unless you just don't lean the bike over much. I'm sure the tire flattens out a lot when you lean so the tread is still making contact with the road but it has to make it more difficult to get the bike to "turn in" initially...although a Goldwing must weight 1,000 lbs. :thumbup:

What size tire is it?

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[Red Wazp]

I find this interesting but geometrically speaking I'm not sure how it can handle the twisties well unless you just don't lean the bike over much. I'm sure the tire flattens out a lot when you lean so the tread is still making contact with the road but it has to make it more difficult to get the bike to "turn in" initially...although a Goldwing must weight 1,000 lbs. :thumbup:

What size tire is it?

1000#'s? Nope, only 909

Michelin Alpin winter tire 195/55 16 run flat.

The Wing does not lean far enough to touch the sidewall plus the Alpin has some curve to it.

When I removed the stock rear tire it was so squared off it looked like a car tire.

 

[FIZZER6]

1000#'s? Nope, only 909

Michelin Alpin winter tire 195/55 16 run flat.

The Wing does not lean far enough to touch the sidewall plus the Alpin has some curve to it.

When I removed the stock rear tire it was so squared off it looked like a car tire.

My touring bike is a 2007 Victory Kingpin Tour (750 lb) that requires an 18" rear tire. There are only a couple options since the factory size required is 180/55-B18 and the Bias is only available from dealers ($270!!!!). I wonder if the victory guys have tried this?

What is width of your rear wheel rim? I believe mine is 5.5".

 

[Nelly]

I don't know enough about it to comment in a really constructive way.
The only thing I would say is take it easy until you get happy with the ride.
Plus it is something I would certainly consider because you have to make your own calls. In the UK the Mod would not be covered on some insurance policies as the small print often specifies rubber recommended by the manufactures.

One of the issues with any modifications is that a large part of the evidence to support the changes and indeed flame them, is that most of the evidence is anecdotal. If we are all honest it takes a lot of balls to say, I've modded it this way and it's crap. From memory (which wouldn't be great) on the forum the last member I recall trying a mod that didn't work and posted a really honest account about it was Helgate (Pete) who did a R1 rear shock mod which didn't perform.
I wish you tons of luck and look forward to hearing all about your experience.

Neil:thumbup:

 

[CamoColton]

My touring bike is a 2007 Victory Kingpin Tour (750 lb) that requires an 18" rear tire. There are only a couple options since the factory size required is 180/55-B18 and the Bias is only available from dealers ($270!!!!). I wonder if the victory guys have tried this?

What is width of your rear wheel rim? I believe mine is 5.5".

I have a '10 Vegas with that ridiculous "Polaris-exclusive" rear tire size as well. You can get Metzeler ME880's and Avon Cobra tires in that size, so you aren't stuck with just the dealer's tire. I've looked over and over again on various forums for anything related to darksiding Victory bikes.

Seems they are all too busy discussing how magical Polaris brand oil is in never-ending oil debate threads. :tard:

 

[Red Wazp]

My touring bike is a 2007 Victory Kingpin Tour (750 lb) that requires an 18" rear tire. There are only a couple options since the factory size required is 180/55-B18 and the Bias is only available from dealers ($270!!!!). I wonder if the victory guys have tried this?

What is width of your rear wheel rim? I believe mine is 5.5".

I did not measure it but I think it was wider than 5.5. Google up darkside forum, perhaps there is some Victory info there.

I don't know enough about it to comment in a really constructive way.
The only thing I would say is take it easy until you get happy with the ride.
Plus it is something I would certainly consider because you have to make your own calls. In the UK the Mod would not be covered on some insurance policies as the small print often specifies rubber recommended by the manufactures.

One of the issues with any modifications is that a large part of the evidence to support the changes and indeed flame them, is that most of the evidence is anecdotal. If we are all honest it takes a lot of balls to say, I've modded it this way and it's crap. From memory (which wouldn't be great) on the forum the last member I recall trying a mod that didn't work and posted a really honest account about it was Helgate (Pete) who did a R1 rear shock mod which didn't perform.
I wish you tons of luck and look forward to hearing all about your experience.

Neil:thumbup:

Thanks Neil, I have my Darkside #1420 so there are 1,419 ct users ahead of me.
Many are on their 3 or 4th tire, that's a lot of miles. If folks didn't like it I would be reading of lot's of Bitching about how crappy the tire is.

Living in the Sierra Nevada mountains means I will run it through the paces this year and let you know.